Waiting to See
by My Beautiful Ending
Summary: When Olivia Darling's younger siblings disappear in the night, she isn't worried. She knows where they've gone. But when they don't return, she'll need to go and find them. But can she trust the people she meets along the way? She'll have to wait and see.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: this story is influenced by the 2003 Peter Pan movie and also Syfy's Neverland, but it shouldn't be too hard to follow. And the story is meant to be taken with a whimsical tone to it, not firmly grounded in realism. Keep that in mind.  
>And I'm posting this because it's the only way to make myself finish it :)<strong>

Older sisters can either be the kindest of creatures, or the scariest. At certain times of the day, Olivia Darling was both. Her younger brothers and sister knew this full well. She was just home from finishing school for the Christmas holidays, and sometimes she would join into their games of make-believe. Olivia could fight off pirates with the best of them, frightening even Wendy with her ruthless swordplay, but when John or Michael (most likely Michael) stepped onto the hem of her dress and ripped it, she would immediately tell them that it was quite all right and that it was just a silly dress in the nicest of ways.

Mr. Darling wondered if that school was doing her any good, since she came home and acted just like her younger brothers and sisters, but Mrs. Darling watched her at dinner and at parties that Olivia sometimes accompanied them to since she was old enough (eighteen was quite old) and she always behaved in a Perfectly Proper manner, being polite to absolutely everyone. Mrs. Darling wondered if there mightn't be boys come calling soon.

Wendy asked Olive, as she called her, about this, and Olive told her that boys were absolute bosh and only a very, very good one would ever be the one to come calling for her. Whenever Wendy would ask how she knew the good ones from the not-so-good, Olivia would always tell her the same thing: "I have to wait and see. The not-so-good ones' acts will slip after a while; the good ones' never do."

Wendy liked Olivia very much, and Olivia liked Wendy, so when Wendy told her about the boy in her window and the shadow in her drawer, Olivia did not tell her how foolish she was, nor to shut and lock her window. She did not go running to the other grownups either, which would be a very meanish older sister thing to do. She told her to wait and see about the boy.

She also told her to keep her cutlass handy, but then, that is an older sister thing, too.

* * *

><p>When Wendy began to come up with new stories, the grownups didn't think much of it. After all, Wendy always had an imaginative mind, so new stories about Indians and pirates and a boy who could fly did not seem too out of the ordinary. Mrs. Darling, who had seen into Olivia's trunk as she had unpacked it, rather thought Wendy got her ideas from her, for Olivia's trunk was full of books like Arabian Nights and Last of the Mohicans and Treasure Island, all books that Wendy would like. And indeed, Olivia did read those books to her younger brothers and sister, but Wendy's stories were so much more magical than those.<p>

John and Michael knew the stories were true, but grownups never believe children when they say such things.

This one particular night, Olivia was up in the nursery sewing one of the sleeves back onto John's shirt. It had come off in a particularly fierce sea battle between Captain Hook and Peter Pan, with Hook being John.

"But I had to, Olive," Michael insisted, "I had to cut off his hand! That's how he becomes Captain Hook."

"I know, Michael," Olivia said patiently. "But John's hand is much further down the sleeve than this tear in the shoulder."

"Michael just isn't very good at swordplay," John said, with a worldly air.

"You just didn't do it right," Michael insisted. "You dodged!"

"Well, if I was Hook, I'm not going to make it easy for you to cut off my hand, am I?" John countered, pushing his round glasses further up on his nose.

"Nana's here!" Wendy announced, opening the nursery door for the large dog. Nana was a special pet of the Darling family, and in fact regarded herself as something of a nurse or surrogate mother for the boys, since she had come to the family when John was just a baby. Michael proclaimed her the smartest animal that ever lived, and Olivia sometimes thought him right.

Nana trotted over to the table that held the glass bottle of medicine and barked once.

"Oh, do we have to, Nana?" Wendy asked, setting down the book of fairytales she was reading. "It is such beastly stuff."

"She says yes," Olivia said. "Go on, now."

Wendy was rather a responsible child who didn't whine (much), so she could be counted on to screw up her face and gulp the spoonful down on her own, which she did. The boys required more persuading, which Nana was all too happy to provide. While she attempted to herd them towards the bottle, Wendy sidled up to Olivia, who was putting the last few stitches into the shirt.

"Olive," Wendy said, "I heard mother and father talking about giving me my own room."

"Really?" Olivia asked, biting off the end of the thread and shaking out the shirt. Now it just needed to be laundered rather desperately, and then it would be as good as it was ever going to get.

"Yes," Wendy said, hesitating. Then, "Olive, does this mean I'm growing up?"

"I expect so," Olivia said, looking over at her. Her dark brown hair was pinned up on her head like a young lady, not hanging down around her shoulders like Wendy.

"And I must learn to be a lady, and go to finishing school like you?" Wendy added.

"Not right away, but soon," Olivia said.

"I'm not sure I want to be finished," Wendy said quietly. "I'm not sure I want to ever grow up."

"Can I tell you a secret, Wendy?" Olivia asked, smiling at her.

"Yes," Wendy said, opening her eyes wide. Secrets from her sister were the best kind.

"I don't think people ever really get finished," Olivia said. "I'm not. I suspect it takes a whole lifetime to get finished. So you needn't worry."

"Oh," Wendy said. It was some comfort to her, but the prospect of a lifetime ahead of her was a bit scary. "I still don't want to grow up."

"No one can make you grow up if you don't want to," Olivia told her absently, folding up John's shirt and throwing it with practiced aim at the laundry basket.

Wendy nodded to herself, as if she was working out something in her mind. That night, her stories were all about a secret place where Peter Pan, the boy who could fly, lived with his Lost Boys that never ever aged, and had great and grand adventures with the inhabitants of that place.

"But he comes here sometimes," Wendy said, "By use of a portal between that world and ours."

"Where is it?" Michael asked in a hushed voice.

"Hidden," Wendy whispered. "Far in the East End of London. The only marks to point the way are concealed in a secret treasure map. And if you strike the portal just right… you would find yourself suddenly in Neverland."

Olivia just smiled.

* * *

><p>When Nana raised a hue and cry during the small hours of the morning, and Mr. and Mrs. Darling dashed into the nursery to find all the beds empty and the window open, Olivia was the only one with the sense to <em>keep <em>the window open and discover that all the small iron cutlasses were missing from their usual places. And so, though she was worried right along with her parents, she knew that nothing untoward had happened to her siblings. They were simply in another place, having a wonderful time.

Or so she thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I bring you chapter two! Again, this is, for me, a whimsical (short) little tale to help me overcome my writer's block on other stories -don't expect something really deep. Thank you for the favorites and/or reviews! Please enjoy :D**

Three weeks was an awfully long time for your children to be missing. The Darlings were nearly out of their minds with worry, and Olivia was beginning to wonder if something had happened to the children, or if they had just forgotten to come home. Soon, in just a few days, Olivia would have to return to school. What if Wendy, John, and Michael never came back?

She took it upon herself to clean the nursery, just to give her self something to do. Between putting all the blocks back into the toy chest and putting the books back onto the shelves, Nana had somehow found her way to the room and sat whining by Wendy's bed. Olivia petted her softly. "I know, Nana. I miss them too."

Nana shook herself in the way that dogs do and began to yip and worry at the covers on Wendy's bed, which was not very well made.

"Nana, get away from there, or the sheets will have to be washed," Olivia said, trying to tug her way. "If you want me to make the bed, then I will, but come away!"

Nana retreated in a huff.

Olivia began to straighten the sheets and coverlet, when something rustled in a decidedly non-cloth like way. She threw back the coverlet to find a much-crumpled piece of paper in between the sheets.

_Map to Neverland_ was scrawled across the top of the page. With much childish dashes and roundabout routes, Olivia could decipher that half the page was supposed to be London, and a large X appeared at the end of the line of dashes. On the other half of the page was a sketch of an island with its own dashes and X.

"Is this how they left?" Olivia whispered, staring at the paper in wonder.

She knew, of course, that it was exactly how they left, and that John had drawn the map, because not everything was in the right spot and his handwriting was atrocious. The boy –Peter Pan –had probably told him verbally how to get to the Portal, if Wendy was right with her stories (she usually was) and John had written it down, having a great love for the written word. But he left the map because when one has the actual guide, what does one need with a map?

As Olivia walked to her room in search of good sensible shoes and a coat, she figured that she was either mad or brilliant, because only a mad person would trouble her parents' hearts more by disappearing out of the world like her siblings had done, and brilliant because this was the only way to find them for sure and bring them back safe.

However, as everyone knows, older sisters are by definition mad and brilliant, but they are also practical. She left a note telling her parents not to worry, and that she would bring her brothers and sister back safe.

Olivia reflected that perhaps she was not even as finished as she herself thought she was, because this seemed to be the beginnings of an awfully big adventure, and honestly, she couldn't wait.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Standing on a corner in one of the poorer parts of London town, Olivia checked her rough map again. No one was staring oddly at her, so she hoped that meant her apparel met the standards. She was wearing a plain brown skirt and her old boots without heels, as well as a plain white blouse and an old brown jacket of her father's. Dodging a horse and wagon, as well as a multitude of people, she continued on her way. Dusk was falling, and she didn't want to find her way in the dark. Turning down a dark alley, Olivia walked quickly. This map was drawn as the crow flies, not according to streets, really. She was trying to take the shortest path to where she wanted to go.

She had not accounted for the rougher sorts that like to lurk in dark alleys.

"Well, wot've we got 'ere, mates?" a low and raspy voice asked, sounding like he had an ever-present cough stuck in his throat.

Olivia jumped and whirled around as a match was struck behind her, illuminating the many dirty faces above hers.

"It's a gel," said one.

"Wot's she got?" another asked in a higher pitched voice.

"I have nothing to steal," Olivia said firmly. "No money. Nothing. Let me be about my business." She turned back around and began to walk very quickly towards the mouth of the alley.

She wasn't quick enough. A huge hand gripped her arm and whirled her around, but she was ready. Olivia could fight off pirates with the best of them; she might be scared, but it would take more than an alley tough to intimidate her. She snapped, "Let go of my arm," and promptly punched him in the face, taking off at a run for the alley mouth. She wasn't stupid, either; one lady against at least four or five was not a fight she could win without a sword.

As a hand snatched at her hair and tugged, Olivia bit back a fairly unladylike curse and kicked at her attacker. Now there were more hands, pulling, ripping –fear began to take over her senses and a scream began to build up in her throat.

Suddenly, all of them froze at the sound of a policeman's whistle. "Coppers, here?" one hissed.

Olivia took the opportunity to scrape her boot down someone's shin and drive her elbow into an abdomen; howls ensued.

A hand grabbed hers and tugged. "RUN!" was the command.

She obeyed.

* * *

><p>She held as still as a statue, barely breathing as the shadowy figure pressed her into the tiny hideaway between buildings, holding a finger to his lips as the boys –she could tell they were boys now, only sixteen or seventeen, but made rough from their life on the streets –ran past. Her body shook from his nearness as the tension loosened from his body.<p>

"Gone now," he said softly. "Are you all right?" He stepped away from her and held out his hand to help her.

Olivia stared at him in some confusion, trying to let her heart regain its normal state. The person in front of her seemed to be her age –walking the line found in ages eighteen and nineteen, when you aren't really sure if they're a boy or a man yet, evident by the shadow on his jaw and the youth in his eyes. His dark hair was ruffled, and his brown eyes had sparkling depths in them.

Why had he rescued her? Could she trust him?

_I'll have to wait and see_, she said to herself.

She took the hand he offered and hopped down off the step. "Yes," she said quietly. "I'm all right. Thank you."

"Beggin' your pardon, but this isn't a very good part o' town, miss. You'd be better off leavin' now," he said.

_He helped me because he was concerned for me. _Olivia shook her head decisively. "No. I need to find something."

He laughed a little. "I don't think that somethin' can be more important than your safety."

"But it is," Olivia told him. He stared at her. "Do you know where two streets cross by a sign with a crocodile on it?"

"The Croc tavern?" He asked.

"Maybe. I need to go near there."

"Why?" He asked suspiciously. "That's a somewhat worse part o' town."

"I told you, I need to find something," Olivia said firmly.

"And what would that be?" he asked, stepping towards her.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she whispered.

His eyes studied her face for a long time, and it made her feel peculiar. Finally, he nodded. "A' right. I'll take you there."

"Thank you," she whispered.

* * *

><p>"This is it," he said, pointing to the building lit up in the darkness, then shoving his hands into the pockets of his black jacket. Olivia took in the large building and checked her map.<p>

"What's in the basement?" she asked.

"A cellar and some rooms. Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"You mean someone lives there?" Olivia asked, surprised.

"_I _do; what business is it of yours? And why do you want to know so badly?" he demanded. In the lantern light, his eyes were nearly glowing as he grabbed her shoulders.

"I need to find my brothers and sister," she whispered. "They left with a boy called Peter Pan through some sort of door to another world, and I need to find it."

He stepped away from her and stared. "Peter?" he repeated.

"Yes," she said, stepping forward in hope.

He glanced around and noticed that they were beginning to attract some stares from her higher-class accent. He nodded. "Come on," he said, grabbing her hand. "This way!"

* * *

><p>The cellar doors creaked ominously as he pulled them open for her. Olivia stared down into the darkness and wondered why she trusted him. "I don't know your name," she said quickly.<p>

"An' I don't know yours," he said. "We're even."

She still took his hand as he led her down into the darkness anyway.

He struck a match and said, "It's not exactly in the cellar."

A small door at the end of a passageway opened into a bare room with only a trunk in the corner and a small lantern, which he lit. "Five years ago, Peter asked me to keep this safe for 'im. He was a good mate, even though I was never in his gang. But I said yes." He looked up into her eyes. "I never saw him again. But he must have come an' gone, like you said."

"How do you know?" Olivia asked.

He motioned with the lantern, and it caught the shine of some sort of glass orb sitting peacefully in the middle of the dirt floor. "It's not in the trunk where I left it."

"Oh," Olivia said, whispering into the gloom. This is what would take her to her brothers and sister. She could find them and bring them home. "How does it work?"

"He told me to be real gentle with it. I'm guessin' you hit it."

"Thank you," she said, turning to him. "I appreciate your help. Both for the directions, and the, um, rescue…"

"You're welcome," he said, smiling. In that moment she thought of how he looked very much like a cute puppy she had befriended at her finishing school.

Olivia walked up to the orb, knelt down, and raised her hand in preparation to hit it. She didn't know if that would work, but she'd try working her way up to heavier things. Just as she was about to let her hand fly forward, his hand grabbed her wrist. "I have to go!" She exclaimed. "I have to!"

"I know," he said, kneeling down beside her. "But I'm not one to let a lady walk into what may be danger alone."

It occurred to Olivia that that selfsame puppy had followed her everywhere she went at school, and felt a touch of irritation. But at the same time, it was quite kind of him to offer to come with her when he didn't even know her. It was… quite the gentlemanly thing to do.

_I'm waiting to see_, she reminded herself. "My name is Olivia Darling," she said.

"Alexander Royce, at your service, miss," he said. "Call me Xander." With that, he pulled a knife out of his boot and slapped the orb with the flat of the blade, and the world dissolved in a flash of gold.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I start school again tomorrow. This is unacceptable. :( [Did you know that fanfic doesn't like less than or greater than signs? That was originally an angry smiley face] Please, review and make me feel better. I'm interested in what you think. **

**Chapter 4**

Olivia woke up sprawled on her back in a world of white. She lay there for a moment, watching her breath turn into white clouds that spiraled away into the wind, but then she remembered: Wendy, John, Michael. She needed to find them. She sat up and felt the last few pins part ways with her hair and fall down. It was only a matter of time, really. Her hair and her hairpins had never really gotten along. She pulled the rest out and began to carefully braid it into a plait, since she had no mirror to repair her hairdo again.

"Where have we got to?" a male voice asked, and Olivia nearly jumped before remembering who was with her. Xander, what a funny nickname for a boy.

"I don't know," she truthfully said. She was busy staring at the strange ground, looking like floating icebergs, and the strange, thick, white trees. "I hear shouting," she said suddenly, listening intently. It sounded like children. "Maybe it's them!" she exclaimed.

"Let's find out," he said, pulling a cap out of his pocket and putting it on his head. Olivia took a moment to look at him. He seemed older with the hat on.

As they scrambled across the disjointed ice, she became aware that on the steeper sections, where a jump or a climb was required, he would always offer her his hand to help her up (or perhaps both hands, to catch her). She would take it with silent, unspoken thanks as they crossed the land towards what now seemed a bit greener piece of earth.

It was like he was offering …something; it went deeper than a helping hand. It was a hand to hold, to clasp …she was reading too much into this. Olivia was putting all of Wendy's fanciful story language into a gesture that was merely what it was –help.

But even if that was all it was and nothing more, she was still grateful.

They reached the green in silence, and now the air was warm, spring like, and the shouts of children were quite close. "Wendy?" Olivia called, hoisting her skirts up to run towards the sound. "John? Michael! Where are you?" Xander ran beside her, long legs actually becoming graceful as he ate up the ground.

"Wendy!" Olivia called again.

"Olive?"

Olivia _almost _couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Wendy swoop down out of the sky like a bird and land in front of her. Almost. "Olive, you've come! How wonderful! John, Michael, Peter, come see Olive!"

Then she was lost in a multitude of glad cries as her brothers and sister swarmed her with hugs.

"But how did you get here?" John asked, ever the practical one of the three younger Darlings. "And who's he?"

"I found the map you drew," Olivia told him, brushing his hair off of his forehead. She detected the remnants of face paint there. "And so I followed it. This is Xander; he keeps the orb for Peter."

"Where _is_ Peter?" Wendy asked, planting her fists onto her hips. "PETER!" she yelled.

A cock's crow began and grew louder as the figure of a flying boy came into view over the trees. He alighted to the ground as Wendy cried, "Peter, Peter! Come and meet my sister Olivia!"

The boy with brown hair and clothes sewn together with silver thread looked at her for a few seconds –sizing her up, Olivia thought; he must be a wise boy –and then he smiled and flew to shake her hand.

"Peter?" Xander asked, incredulous beside her. "Is that you?"

His smile became sadder. "In Neverland, people don't age. But lookit you, Xander!" he laughed. "Is the orb still safe?"  
>"Yes," he said.<p>

"Good."

Wendy took Olivia's hands. "Why did you come, Olive?" she asked, a little perplexed. "Do you want to have some adventures? Oh, we've had some marvelous ones!"

"That's wonderful, Wendy," Olivia said, smiling. "But I've come to take you home."

"Home?" Michael said. "I don't want to go _home!_"

"But Michael, it's been weeks!" Olivia said. "Mother and Father are worried sick! I have to leave to go back to school in a few days. If I hadn't come, they'd have never known what had happened to you!"

The children stood and thought about this big, somber thought that seemed to take up all the space in the air around them.

"Well then, we must go back," Wendy said bravely. "I should have thought… only it doesn't feel so long here. It only seems like a few days we've been away." She turned to Peter. "Mightn't we go back home, Peter? I shan't want Mother to worry anymore."

The boy looked sad at the prospect of his new friends having to leave, but nodded. "Course you can. You'll have to wait 'til first light of morning, though."

"Why?" Olivia asked curiously.

"The pirates want to find the return orb, but I've hidden it," Peter said confidently. "They'd do anything to get it, so I only come and go at its secret place during the very early morning, when there's a thick fog. They can't see me then!" He grinned triumphantly, and the very candor of his face and the sheer happiness he exuded seemed to light up the group of children and almost-adults.

Olivia laughed along with him. "Oh, the cleverness of you," she said.

"Since we've got so much time," Wendy began, "can I show Olivia around?"

"Course," Peter said. "Watch out for the pirates, though. Xander, have you got any stories from London?"

"Well now, let me see," he said, turning a cheeky grin onto Olivia. "Just the other day I rescued a lady from a band of ruffians."

"The boys'll love to hear it," Peter said.

"Where to?" Xander asked.

Wendy was tugging at Olivia's hand. "Come on, Olive, I want to show you the Mermaids." Olivia let herself be tugged away, sparing a parting glance for the boys still talking on the hill. Xander caught her eye and nodded, and Olivia wondered what the feeling in her chest meant.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: come on, all you shy lurkers. Come on out and review. I promise I'm not scary. And the next chapter will be exciting! :D so come on. Or I'll sic the crocodile on you.  
><strong>

**Chapter 5**

This place was enchanting. The Mermaids were beautiful in their rocky lagoon (even if you couldn't get too close lest they drown you), Tinkerbell and her chiming noises that no one but Peter could understand were fascinating, Tiger Lily (Olivia could not yet say her Indian name) was very kind, and the land itself was full of wonder.

And now her younger sister was teaching her how to fly.

"Keep thinking happy thoughts… that's it!" Wendy exclaimed. Olivia was determinedly not looking straight down, merely at the tree tops in the distance.

Wendy swooped down around her. "You've just got to keep in mind that it you start going wobbly, it means the fairy dust has run out, and you need to land or you'll drop out of the sky."

Oh, that wasn't a happy thought at all. Olivia dropped a few feet.

"But it's all right," Wendy said. "It lasts a good long while."

_Good_, Olivia thought to herself, propelling herself along.

* * *

><p>"It's called Hangman's Tree," explained Wendy, "because long before Peter and the boys ever came here, the pirates hung someone off of it. And he's still there, too," she whispered in a thrilling voice. Olivia followed her pointing finger with her eyes and could make out in the dusk, a bleached skeleton hanging by a rope from one of the dead tree branches. It had obviously been there for years and years and presented no threat, but was just the thing for a deliciously spooky sort of story that children enjoyed. This was the latest in a long line of stories Wendy had told her about Peter and the boys and the island itself. Olivia suspected Wendy would be talented indeed when she was older. And if she would stop changing stories without warning.<p>

"And then the crocodile– are you listening, Olive?" Wendy asked.

"Yes, Wendy. Go on." Olivia watched in wonder as the boys tripped the secret entrance into the hollow tree and the underground cavern as her sister continued with her story about Captain Hook and the crocodile. She was given food and drink as she sat down on the animal skins placed on the floor, and even though she had to eat with her fingers, Olivia could say she had eaten nothing better.

"Did you enjoy the island?" Xander asked, sitting down on the other side of her. "It's amazing, from what I saw of it."

"Yes, very much. How was your talk with Peter and the boys?" Olivia asked.

"Good. Didn't know how much I missed seeing 'em. But it's strange…to see how they've stayed the same old kids when I've…" he trailed off, staring into the firelight.

"Grown up," Olivia filled in. "I know. Except I feel it whenever I look at Wendy and the boys." Wendy had left her side and was talking with Peter now, with a happy, hopeful look on her face that Olivia felt mirrored in her heart.

"You wish you could get that innocence back," Xander whispered. "That carefree spirit that didn't worry about the next day's problems."  
>"That didn't look towards the future with apprehension or uncertainty," Olivia murmured. "Where does it go, do you think?"<p>

He did not have a chance to respond, for at that moment Wendy clapped her hands and exclaimed, "I should fancy a dance! Come on, everyone! Slightly and John and Peter shall play for us!"

John adjusted his glasses upon his nose and took up the proffered battered violin. Peter pulled a pipe out of his pocket and Slightly coaxed a few wheezes out of an accordion.

"Come on!" Wendy cried.

Xander stood and offered his hand to Olivia. "May I have this dance?"

She smiled up at him and let him pull her to her feet. "You may," she said, curtseying.

Then the music began, and it was like the whole room put wings on their feet, for the rousing sea hornpipe was so glad and joyful no one could stay still for long. Olivia laughed and laughed as she went from a tall partner to a short partner to an in-between partner and back again, whirling around the room by her elbows until she could barely breathe for laughing.

Late that night, Wendy tugged on Olivia's sleeve and whispered sleepily, "Would you like to come and see my house? Peter and the boys built it for me, because they said it was proper for me to have my own house since I'm a girl. They'll come fetch us in the morning."

Olivia, feeling rather tired herself, said, "I would love to see your house."

Wendy led Olivia through the forest to a clearing where a small house made of branches and vines and flowers sat. It had a door with hinges and a window and even a tiny chimney, though Olivia hoped Wendy had not tried to use it. Inside the floor was made of smooth planks covered with soft moss and flower petals. Olivia lay down beside her sister in her magical cottage. Wendy whispered, "Are you going to marry Xander, Olive?"

All sorts of grownup-y words and arguments rose up in her mind, about how he wasn't the right boy from society's standards, or how he hadn't any money (probably, she thought), or how he didn't have the right sort of job with a bank or an office or some such thing, or why Wendy would have such an absurd idea like that in the first place, but it occurred to her that they were all so _silly._ Why did all those things matter?

"I don't know," she finally told Wendy. "I'm still waiting to see… if he's the right one, or if he even likes me at all…"

"I'm waiting to see, too," Wendy said quietly.

Olivia put an arm around her sister, keeping the words about how Peter probably did not want to leave Neverland and how holding onto such a hope would only hurt inside of her. For childhood dreams and hopes are never silly, and if they end up in hurt, children are usually the better for it, because it teaches them lessons. But they should never give up on their dreams before they start.

"Tell me some stories about mother and father," Wendy asked sleepily. "About when they met. You tell it so well."

Olivia began to whisper the stories they had heard over and over as small children. "Once upon a time, mother was going to a ball…"


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: just so you all know, I'm forgetful. I forgot to post, and then I got a very nice review which reminded me to post, and then I forgot again before I did it. Whoops. So here you go, and my apologies.**

**Chapter 6**

Olivia was accustomed to the roll and sway of a ship; she had been allowed to accompany her Aunt Millicent to Paris on her fifteenth birthday, and a school friend of hers had a particular love for boating, so the sea was nothing new to her. Thus, it was Wendy that awoke first at the strange feeling and the smell of the sea and shook Olivia awake. "Olive," Wendy said, sounding afraid, "Where are we?"

_We are certainly not in the place we were last night. And since the only vessel in these waters is a Pirate ship… I think it's pretty obvious. _Keeping a hand on Wendy so that she would not go outside, Olivia whispered, "Keep quiet, so we may learn what they are about."

She carefully peered out the small window as Wendy whispered in her ear, "Peter will come save us."

"Yes, of course he will," Olivia agreed. That was what she was afraid of. Obviously they had been brought aboard this ship for a purpose. If she had her times right, this Captain had been watching Peter go back and forth between worlds for possibly five years, and had never been able to catch him at it. This was obviously his solution to the problem.

"Have you run across this man before?" Olivia whispered.

"Oh, yes," Wendy said. "He captured Tiger Lily and put her in Skull Rock to make her reveal Peter's hideout, but we got there in time."

"In… time?" Olivia repeated.

"Yes, before the tide came in and drowned her," Wendy replied. "He's perfectly dreadful." She shivered.

Both girls jumped as something hit the roof of the small house with much force. "You might as well come out, Wendy Bird," a refined voice said, "I know you're awake. I would prefer not to play games."

Olivia gathered her breath and her courage, taking Wendy's hand. "Be brave," she whispered. When mother and father had first brought Wendy home to live with them, her mother had told her that she was now an older sister, and it was her duty to look after her younger sister. And that was what she was going to do. She opened the door and stepped into the light.

Wendy pressed herself close to Olivia's side, because pirates of all shapes and sizes instantly surrounded them. Their leering stares turned into murmurs that turned into words Olivia did not wish Wendy to hear and clapped her hands over her sister's ears. Olivia was staring resolutely at the sky as her cheeks burned, trying not to listen, when suddenly space around her and Wendy cleared.

"I don't want to hear you ever speak like that again, Noodler," the smooth, cultured voice said. Olivia spared a quick, darted glance to her left to see a tall man with a wicked hook for his right hand. "In fact, I'm sure I won't."

Olivia was just in time to cover Wendy's eyes and refocus her own on the clouds. Her ears, however, could not escape the gory sounds made by the lethal piece of steel in place of a hand, nor the screams and splash made by the man.

Something wet had hit her cheek, making her flinch, and she didn't know if it was sea spray or blood or what, but she didn't want to reach up and find out.

Wendy pushed Olivia's hand away from her eyes and stared. The man moved to face them both straight on, and as Olivia's eyes met his –unintentionally –she was much struck by their brilliance. As blue and sharp as anything, they seemed to drive right down into her soul.

"That was horrible," Wendy said, with the innocence and honesty that children have.

"Ah, yes," Captain Hook –for that was who he was –said, "but you couldn't hear what he was saying. Now, Miss Wendy, who is this fine lady?"

"My sister Olivia," Wendy said, sticking out her chin, for in her mind, she had the finest sister that anyone could ever ask for.

"Olivia? What a pretty name," he said, with a slow smile that gave Olivia visions of a slowly uncurling snake.

"Do not address me so informal, sir," Olivia said in a hard voice. She knew perfectly well the proprieties, and suspected he did, too. "It's _Miss Darling._"

"Very well… Miss _Darling,_" he said, letting his low voice become a purr. Reaching into his pocket and pulling out a fine white handkerchief with his good hand, he let his gaze sweep her from top to bottom. So quick that all she could do was flinch, he held her head still with his sharp hook against her jaw as he dabbed at her cheek with his other hand. "Terribly sorry about all this," he said quietly. "But since you are guests on my ship, the men have to be taught that I do not allow guests to be trifled with."

"Really," Olivia said, in a terribly quiet voice. "I had the impression that guests are usually invited, not _kidnapped_." The words came out with a hiss. In that moment, as Wendy looked up at her sister, she was reminded how scary sister could be.

"The key word there being 'usually'," Hook whispered in her ear.

"What do you want?" Olivia snapped. She could feel Wendy looking up into the sky and over the water, and had the urge to do the same, abet for a different reason. It was far past first light by now; _why did he not come?_

"Pan has something that I want, and I have tried every scheme I know to get it, but to no avail. I find that the only solution is to make an exchange: one highly valued item for another." He smiled without mirth.

Olivia wondered if it was a slip of a tongue, or intended that he only mentioned _one._

* * *

><p>The large captain's cabin was furnished in dark wood and was very rich and opulent, but the windows were grimy. Olivia noticed that right off, as well as the distinct smell of cigar smoke and the random trinkets carelessly cast onto odd surfaces. They were locked in –somewhere to keep them confined and to stop any escape, but a place where few of the men could gain access. She checked the window and found the catch to be very, very stiff. It opened up into the open ocean, not good for them, because the waters were crocodile and mermaid infested. However, a flying rescue could put the window to their advantage.<p>

Olivia hoped that Peter and the rest knew this, and at Wendy's insistence, kept the window open.

**Come on, shy ones. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: A bit of history for you guys: the words and lyrics for "Danny Boy" were first written in 1910 by an English lawyer named Frederic Edward Weatherly, but it was unsuccessful. In 1912, his sister-in-law sent him the music for a song called "Londonderry Air," and he noticed that the melody would be perfect for his lyrics. He published a revised version of his song in 1913. **  
><strong>As you all can tell, the dates for Peter Pan and "Danny Boy" don't exactly match up (the play was performed in 1904, and the novel published in 1911 or thereabouts) but since this is fanfiction, stretch your imaginations. And honestly, this song is gorgeous, especially when Celtic Woman sings it. Seriously, youtube it or something.<strong>

**Anyways. You can go ahead and read now.**

**Chapter 7**

They had been aboard for hours and hours, and still no one had come for them. Hook looking in on them every so often did not count, in her mind. She didn't speak to him, didn't even look at him because… something about him made her stomach twist and curl, and she didn't like it. Olivia didn't appreciate the fact that she shook in his presence, and she didn't know if it was from fear or something else.

Olivia began to feel doubt, doubt that anyone would save them, creeping in on the edges of her mind. It was like a preying animal, sensing weakness and going for blood. When Wendy piped up and said, "Olivia, I should like to sing something," Olivia was never more grateful.

"Whatever for?" she questioned, the doubt still clouding her tone.

"So that Peter and Xander and Michael and John will know we are all right and waiting," Wendy said patiently. She knew older sisters could be a little dense about younger children things sometimes.

"Very well," Olivia said, moving to the window seat and smelling the salt from the sea through the open window. "What shall we sing?"

"Something pretty," Wendy said, scrambling up beside her. "The boys don't like pretty things all the time, but I do."

"How about 'Danny Boy'?" Olivia suggested.

"Yes," Wendy said. "Can you sing the harmony? You're so good at it."

"Of course," Olivia said, beginning to sing, and Wendy picked up the melody as the dusk fell over Neverland.

_Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling  
>From glen to glen, and down the mountainside<br>The summer's gone, and all the roses falling  
>'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide.<em>

The Elder and Younger Miss Darlings' voices melded together on the cool air, the old, old tune winding its way around the ship and then to shore.

_But come ye back when summer's in the meadow  
>Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow<br>'Tis I'll be there in sunshine or in shadow  
>Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so.<em>

A small brown head poked up above the window seat, and Olivia hurriedly poked Wendy so she would not exclaim his name.

Peter whispered, "The boys are providing a distraction. I've come to take you away. Keep singing!"

Olivia helped Wendy into Peter's arms as he whispered, "I'll be back for you. Keep singing!"

She grabbed his jacket and whispered hurriedly, "If you can't get me… promise me that you'll get them back home safe."

"I promise," He whispered. And off he flew, leaving her at the window. Always at the window. _At least Wendy is safe, _she thought to herself, pouring her heart into the song, watching the small forms disappear into the land. She knew Peter wouldn't let anything happen to her.

_And when ye come, and all the flowers are dying  
>If I am dead, as dead I well may be<br>You'll come and find the place where I am lying  
>And kneel and say an "Ave" there for me.<em>

_And I shall hear, tho' soft you tread above me  
>And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be<br>For you will bend and tell me that you love me  
>And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.<em>

_I'll simply sleep in peace until you come to me._

In the still silence as her song finished, she heard quite clearly the creak of the cabin door. Her head snapped around, and whatever words had been on the Captain's lips died and turned to ash when he saw that there was only one inhabitant of his cabin. Striking quicker than the snake she had likened him to, he crossed the cabin, grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the nearest wall.

Gasping from pain and indignity, Olivia glared at him as he hissed in her face. "I have been waiting for this day for too long, lass," he whispered harshly. "Pan is finally going to give me what I want and nothing_," _he emphasized his point by tightening his hold on her throat, "_nothing_ is going to stand in my way. So he came while you were singing and carried your sister away, hmm?"

She said nothing, staring resolutely over his shoulder at the charts on the wall.

"Well you just go ahead and sing some more. Only I'll be here when he comes back," Hook said.

"Never," Olivia said. "I'd rather die."

"That can be arranged."

"Do it, then. Kill off your bargaining piece. That's very smart."

"Do not _test_ me, woman," he snarled, shoving his face closer to her own. She could smell him –sweat and cigars and brandy, plus an added scent that was simply _man_ –and he had called her a woman. No one had ever done that before. His eyes, bright and piercing, saw the slight shift in her face, or perhaps he felt her heartbeat trip, he whispered, "I am a gentleman, but I will not answer for what will happen if I am pushed."

"You are no gentleman," Olivia said, her voice shaking. "You are a common pirate. Gentlemen do not kidnap people and hold them for ransom."

His eyes began to glare at her, and as her heart thumped in her chest, her reason whispered to her, _he's slipping._ "I'm afraid you are mistaken, Miss Darling," he said. "Only one of you was going to be exchanged for the portal. What makes you think that I would ever let _you _go?"

"You would _dare…" _Olivia began to hiss in shocked indignation, but was interrupted from a cry on deck.

"Cap'n! It's PAN! And his little band of -" the shout was abruptly cut off, but followed by much chaos from above.

Hook snarled and grabbed Olivia by the arm, hauling her out on deck. Thoughts whizzed through Olivia's mind; Peter must have seen through the window that stealth would not work, thus taking a more direct approach. And Hook would certainly not take the risk of leaving her in his cabin with an open window again. But how would –

As soon as they reached the deck, he pulled her tight against him and set his hook against her throat.

Olivia froze. Her eyes frantically scanned the lost boys engaged in a battle against the pirates, and she found John, but Michael and Wendy were not among them. She did not see Peter, either, …nor Xander.

"Think very carefully about this, boys," he exclaimed, letting his voice project across the ship. All the fighting had stilled "Just what will this accomplish? I'd hate to spill a lady's blood."

"Let my sister go!" John exclaimed, shoving his glasses higher onto his nose and brandishing his sword.

"Fly back home, _boy,_ unless you've got what I want," Hook snapped.

Olivia discovered that she was suddenly angry –horribly, monstrously angry. "Don't you dare speak that way to my brother!" she snapped, struggling in his grip. _I don't think he's really willing to kill me –but if I'm wrong –oh, I'll take the risk, _she thought, suddenly ducking low. His hook scraped the side of her neck painfully, but it wasn't deep, and he didn't hang onto her for fear of seriously injuring her. Olivia launched herself across the quarterdeck and rolled into a crouch, scanning frantically for an escape route because he was right behind her –

"Hook, you codfish!" Peter yelled, swooping over her head to land between her and the Captain. "Picking on girls now?"

Hook gave an unintelligible cry of rage as he slashed down on Peter with his cutlass.

"Olivia!"

She could not explain why her heart leapt inside of her at the sound of his voice, or why her face lit up at his presence, but she knew that they did, and as she turned and ran to the rail of the quarterdeck, she couldn't contain her joy. "Xander," she said, staring at him floating in midair in front of the quarterdeck rail. "You came."

" 'Course I did," he said, surprised. "You think I'd leave you in danger? I came to protect you."

As everyone knows, all girls have a hidden kiss in the right hand corner of their mouths. They only ever give it to one person in their whole lives. Sometimes it's the right person, and sometimes it's the wrong person. Olivia used to think that life would be horrible if she gave her kiss to the wrong person, so she sent all the boys away who tried to court her and resolved to wait and see about everything.

He didn't make her feel afraid. She was entirely safe in this moment. She had seen enough, and it was time to stop waiting. She put her arms around Xander's neck and gave him her kiss. And to her great surprise, he kissed her back.

She pulled back with a look of shock on her face and a great look of mischief on Xander's. "What?" he asked. "Boys have kisses to give, too."

Olivia threw back her head and laughed.

He offered her a sword. "Can you use it?"

" 'Course I can," Olivia said, taking it. "I can fight off pirates with the best of them."

"Good," Xander said, "because I think you're about t' get your chance."

* * *

><p>"And then?" The clamor of little voices demanded. "And then? What happened then, Aunt Wendy?"<p>

Wendy Darling looked down at her three nieces and nephew. "Then? Why, we won, of course. Don't you know good always triumphs over evil?"

"Yes, but what _next?_" the small boy asked. "How did you win? How did you get home?"

"If you'll wait just a minute, I'll tell you," she said tartly. "Now, where was I?

"Oh yes –Olivia and Xander were battling the pirates now, along with the lost boys. It was an even battle, for the most part, but suddenly, along comes the Crocodile Peter had fed Hook's hand to!"

The collective gasp was very satisfying to the storyteller.

"The pirate crew, having been trained by their captain to always spot the crocodile by the tic-tok of the clock in its stomach, was distracted by the sound and the lost boys took the advantage! Not to mention the sound turns Hook into a jellyfish! So Peter called for a retreat and everyone flew off back to the mainland, leaving the pirates to deal with the Crocodile."

"You just retreated?" her nephew said, looking slightly disappointed. "Nobody died?"

"The whole point of the battle was a distraction," Wendy pointed out. "To get Olivia and me away safely. We accomplished what we set out to do; that's a very good ending."

"Alright," he said. "Go on. How'd you get home?"


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: wow. this snuck up on me. Last Chapter guys! fluff abounds. Please review. And keep an eye peeled for the short companion oneshot I promised somebody. More Peter in that. Read on!**

Chapter 8

With a brilliant flash of gold, Olivia found herself sprawled on top of someone in the darkness. "Oof," she said.

"Tell me about i'," Xander said from underneath her.

"Oh!" She rolled off of him. "I'm so sorry."  
>"It's fine," he said. "Let me go find the lantern. Nobody move."<p>

Olivia heard him get up and pick his way across the cellar. "John, Michael, Wendy? Are you all right?"

"Yes, I should think so," John said.

"Yes," said Wendy.

"Have we come home?" Michael asked.

"Yes," Olivia said, and as Xander struck a match and lit the lantern right at that moment, they could all see her smile. "We're home."

* * *

><p>Xander peered around the corner, checking that the coast was clear to the Darling home. Dusk was just beginning to fall, but there were still people about, and it would look exceedingly odd for some children in their nightshirts and nightgowns to walk down the street. He turned to look back at the huddle of Darling and nodded, waving them forward. "All clear," he said.<p>

Olivia led the way up the street and to the door of the Darling residence, and felt some odd feelings when she had to ring the bell of her own home.

"George, dear, get the door, would you?" her mother's clear voice said from a distance.

"Who could be calling at this hour?" her father's baritone asked, as footsteps came closer and the door opened.

George Darling could merely stared in shock at the ragtag group on his doorstep.

"Hello, Father," Wendy said.

At last he gave a glad cry and opened his arms, shouting, "Mary, they're BACK!"

The children fell into his arms as Mother asked, "George, what –" she dropped the vase she had been carrying, and didn't even notice it smash, though it had been a gift from her sister. She threw herself in with her children, laughing and crying at the same time. Wendy clung to her, and Olivia, forgetting how old she was, called her 'mummy' and hugged her just as tightly.

No one noticed Xander quietly closing the door behind him.

When they finally settled down enough to listen to explanations, Wendy elected herself spokesperson, spitting out details of their adventures. "Oh, and then we had the grandest time at the Indian encampment! We got to see some of the fairies besides Tinkerbell, too! Oh, and then Olivia and Xander came to bring us home, and _then_ Olivia and I got captured by pirates –"

"Who is Xander?" Mrs. Darling asked.

Olivia's head shot up and saw that he was nowhere to be found. "I'll be right back," she promised, running out the door. Scanning the street, she saw his tall frame walking away with his hands in his pockets. She hiked up her skirts and ran after him, calling his name. He turned and met her halfway.

"You can't just leave like that!" Olivia exclaimed, grabbing his hands. "Why did you go?"

He looked into her eyes sadly. "I don't belong in your world, Olivia."

She stared at him with such honesty and sincerity in her eyes that they bled forth into her words as she said, quite clearly, "Says who?"

"Says…" he trailed off, motioning toward the building around them. "Everybody! Society."

"Hang society," Olivia snapped. "It's stupid."

The fierce expression on her face coupled with her words made him burst out laughing.

"No, really," Olivia said. "There are all sorts of reasons, and they're all so _silly._ Why do they matter?"

He stared at their clasped hands. "I guess they don't."

"Come on, then," she said, giving his hands a gentle tug. "I won't let you walk into what may be danger alone."

He smiled at her and let her lead him back to her house, where she found her parents and siblings in the sitting room, still regaling their parents with tales of their adventures.

"Mother, Father," Olivia said from the doorway. "This is Alexander Royce, Xander for short. He helped me bring them back."

Mrs. Darling had been too caught up in joy to notice the change in her eldest daughter before, but now she took note –there was still a kiss in the right hand corner of her mouth, but it was not _her_ kiss… an exchange had taken place.

She smiled at the pair as George got up and shook his hand, expressing his thanks for the help he offered Olivia.

"Xander," Mrs. Darling said kindly, "welcome to the family."

_The End_


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